Massachusetts is facing an unprecedented opiate crisis, and the severity of the issue has never been clearer for those combating it on the front lines: doctors and nurses in Baystate Health's emergency departments across western Massachusetts.

This summer, when your kids are tugging at your shorts, eyeing the latest and greatest rollercoaster ride, take a minute to evaluate the risks. Every year, nationwide, an estimated 4,400 kids get hurt and are treated in emergency rooms for injuries involving thrill rides at amusement parks and traveling carnivals.

On March 25, on the heels of April’s Distracted Driving Awareness Month – sponsored by the National Safety Council – the AAA released what some consider the most comprehensive research ever conducted into crash videos of teen drivers. The research involved analysis of nearly 2,000 videos obtained from cameras mounted in vehicles that captured what teen drivers were doing in the moments leading up to an accident.

“It should come as no surprise that each winter we see many people visit our Emergency and Trauma Center with snow-related injuries ranging from mild sprains to back injuries to life-threatening heart attacks,” said Dr. Joseph Schmidt, vice chair, Emergency Medicine, Baystate Medical Center.